Two Seek Appointment To Water Control Board

CORAL SPRINGS — The state is expected to choose between a former mayor and a community activist to fill a seat on the Sunshine Water Control District Board.

The board is recommending the reappointment of George MacGregor, a former mayor and 16-year incumbent on the three-member board.

Bill Rettinger, president of the Pride Promoters civic organization, said he will nominate himself for appointment to the board.

Appointment by the Department of Environmental Protection rather than election by voters is the typical route to a seat on the board, which oversees the maintenance of drainage canals in the district.

Under state law governing such boards, the district sets an election meeting, and a quorum of landowners in the district must either be present or vote by proxy in order to conduct the election.

The district includes 15,000 Coral Springs homes and a quorum - 7,500 landowners - is very difficult to obtain. As a result, the drainage board typically winds up recommending a candidate to the Department of Environmental Protection.

That is what happened last week at the election called for incumbent MacGregor's seat. Without a quorum to authorize an election, the board passed a resolution recommending that the state reappoint MacGregor.

"I don't know what is going to happen," said MacGregor, who has been appointed before. "Obviously, I would like to serve, but I'm not going to throw myself across a bed and cry if someone else gets appointed."

Rettinger said he never expected a quorum to enable the election. "It went exactly as I anticipated," Rettinger said of the board meeting. "Now it's with the [Florida Department of Environmental Protection)."

He said he would submit his name by today to the Department of Environmental Protection, seeking appointment to the board. The state agency is expected to make its selection within a month.

In addition to serving as president of Pride Promoters, which represents several older neighborhoods in Coral Springs, Rettinger is a critic of the water district board.

Rettinger has questioned the method of electing board members. He also spearheaded a drive aimed at having the district assume responsibility for trimming Florida holly trees along canal banks adjacent to homes.

However, district officials say the trees do not restrict the flow of water or cause drainage problems, and so are not the district's responsibility. A city ordinance requires homeowners to maintain their property to the water line.

The district, which has an annual budget of $624,000, is roughly bounded by Wiles Road, Royal Palm Boulevard, Woodside Drive and the Everglades conservation area.